The adventures of a traveling teacher

Eating from Nature

I could not sleep last night. My mind was fighting with itself, making lists, planning lessons, and organizing my classroom.

For over 2 hours, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Sleep eventually came but I woke up on my first day back at work feeling exhausted. Luckily, only the teachers and assistants are in this week!

Breakfast helped get me out of bed.

2 egg omelet with spinach and soft goat’s cheese.

I got to school early and started to work right away. Before long, work was interrupted by catching up with my dear friends and colleagues- hearing all about the wonderful adventures they were on this summer.

I munched on grapes for a mid-morning snack.

Lunch was leftover veggie stir fry from last night.

I stayed at work until 5 then came home and ate the peach before going to the grocery store.

It’s Quiz Time!!!!!!

Can you identify this vegetable?

How about from this angle?

Ok, I’ll give you a little clue…

If you guessed celeriac or celery root…

You Win!!!!!

For two weeks now, I’ve been unable to find just the celery, so today I bought the whole kit and kaboodle!

Celeriac is rumored to be a fantastic root vegetable. Great roasted or in soups, but I’ve not yet tried to cook this ugly duckling.

I was, however, able to use the celery in my dinner.

Spicy Lentil and Tomato Soup

Adapted from Easy GI Diet

Serves 4

Ingredients

250 g (8 oz.) red lentils

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 large celery stick, finely chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes, drained

1/2 tsp. paprika

1-2 fresh red chili peppers, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

2 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water

salt and pepper to taste

fresh parsley or cilantro to garnish

Method

Place the lentils in a bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion, garlic and celery over a low hear until softened.

Drain the lentils and add them to the vegetable pan along with the tomatoes. Stir well. Add the chili, paprika, cumin and vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper.

Cover the pan and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. Add a little more water or vegetable stock if the soup becomes too thick.

Garnish as desired and enjoy.

Calories: 288, Protein: 18g, Carbohydrates: 28g, Fat: 2g

This soup is so good! Spicy, fresh and clean tasting.

While eating it, I was struck by the wonderful knowledge that the taste is created by the combination of only real, nature-made food. There’s nothing like eating fresh, whole, real food.

When I thought the meal couldn’t get any better, the fresh German bread jumped in.

The bread of the week at my local bakery.

Before I leave Germany, I must take a bread-baking lesson. That way, no matter where I go in the world, I’ll be able to bring one of my favorite things about Germany with me and share it with others.

While making the soup, I heard the loudest, most blissful purring coming from the office area.

7 Responses

Hopefully you now have the sleepless night before school done for this year and can enjoy the rest of the next few weeks in peace. Seeing the grand cats sleeping so soundly makes me wonder what mischief they were up to all day while you were gone. Knocked themselves out I’d say! Love ya, Mom

Ok, our cats should meet and snuggle. I’m pretty sure they could be friends. ADORABLE.
I feel like I made something similar to that soup this spring – anything that involves spicy, tomato and lentils is a winner in my book!

I once found a garlic olive oil spray at Strauss Innovations but have never seen anything else similar since. A pump-spray bottle was another item I brought back with me from the US. I’ll keep my eyes open though and let you know if I ever see an oil spray here.